Sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch. By far, they are the five senses most popular and named, that help us perceive the world in a very particular way. However, all those who identify them as "the only senses" fall into a technical error. Experts agree that the human being possesses at least four additional senses, with very well-defined roles.
Some sources suggest that the classic model of the five senses dates back to the poem "Cursor Mundi", which in turn is related to Aristotle's "five elements", such that sight comes from fire, hearing from ether, smell from air, taste from water, and touch from earth. This was expanded in the Middle Ages with the inclusion of the "five wits", usually identified as common sense, imagination, fantasy, instinct, and memory. The problem is that those ancient interpretations do not withstand modern scientific rigor. Human beings have more than five senses, and today we will explore them:
The Other Human Senses
Proprioception
The first of these is proprioception, which reaches the knowledge of our body and the situation of each of its parts. Do you remember that classic scene in series and movies where a police officer asks a drunk person to close their eyes and touch their nose? The goal is to evaluate their proprioception, since alcohol interferes with that sense.
Thermoreception and Nociception
Then come two closely related senses: Thermoreception and nociception. The first helps us perceive temperatures and their differences, and is divided into two types of receptors or sensors (cold and heat). The video indicates that these receptors function within a specific threshold (between 20 and 40 degrees Celsius), while the rest of the temperatures are interpreted to a greater or lesser degree as pain... which leads us to nociception. The types of receptors to perceive pain are three: cutaneous, somatic, and visceral.
The Sense of Balance
Finally, we reach the very important sense of balance, and we find additional references such as the sensation of hunger, and the passing of time. Science continues its work looking for new senses, better understanding existing ones, and why not, reclassifying others in a different way, but one thing is certain: the traditional structure of the five senses, is obsolete.
